Grading Guidelines for Applied Juries, Recitals and Evaluations

Juries and Recitals for Music 140B, 141B, 240B, 340B, 440B
(majors other than performance)

FAIL 0-45%

Jury is of unacceptable quality in terms of preparation,
musicianship and/or technical accomplishment. Student is not
prepared to continue study at next level. A student who fails the
same jury exam twice will be required to withdraw from the Bachelor
of Music program.

50-60%

Jury is below the minimum standard normally expected of a music
student at this level, but there is reason to believe that the
student might be able to succeed at the next level with sufficient
effort. For example, a grade in this range may indicate a
first-year student who entered with a weak background and who is
"catching up", or a student at any level with sufficient background
and ability, but unsatisfactory work habits. 50% and 55% should be
interpreted as strong warnings that a student is in serious danger
of not completing the program successfully without major
improvement. 60% is also a warning, but of a milder sort.

65%

B minus. Jury is of acceptable standard for a music student at
this level. There may be technical and musical weaknesses, but the
repertoire is of adequate difficulty and the jury material is
reasonably well prepared and presented. There is no reason to doubt
that the student can continue successfully in the music
program.

B plus. Good jury, well prepared and musically and technically
sound. Presentation almost but not quite polished enough to deserve
an A. Repertoire is of sufficient difficulty for this level, but
the level of technical and/or musical accomplishment is not
sufficient to warrant consideration for the performance major.

80%

A minus. Very good jury, very well prepared; polished and
secure performance. Technical and musical accomplishment beyond
minimum requirements for this level. Repertoire need not be of
sufficient difficulty to warrant consideration for the performance
major.

85%

A. Outstanding jury, secure and polished. Technical and musical
accomplishment well beyond minimum requirements for this level.
Repertoire at a level of difficulty expected from a performance
major.

90%

A plus. Jury is equivalent to the level of a strong performance
major. Technical accomplishment is outstanding, beyond the level
normally expected from undergraduate students. The student is
likely to be a strong candidate for admission to graduate work in
performance at most schools in North America.

95%

Jury of professional performance calibre. The major music
schools in North America (including Juilliard, Eastman, Indiana)
will be trying to outbid each other to recruit this student. We
will never hear a better jury from a student at this level.

100%

This grade would be unfair and misleading to any music
student.

Juries and Recitals for Music 345B and 445B (performance
majors)

below 75%

Jury/recital below the calibre required for the applied
major.

75%

B plus. Minimum required grade for these courses. Performance
is adequate to allow graduation or continuation in the performance
program.

80%

A minus. Performance is secure and of good musical/technical
standard for the performance major.

85%

A. Outstanding recital/jury, secure and polished. Technical and
musical accomplishment beyond minimum requirements for this level.
The student is likely to be a strong candidate for admission to
graduate work in performance at most graduate schools in North
America.

90%

A plus. Exceptional recital/jury. Technical accomplishment is
outstanding, beyond the level normally expected from undergraduate
students. The student is likely to be a strong candidate for
admission to graduate work in performance at the best schools in
North America.

95%

Recital/jury of professional performance calibre. The major
music schools in North America (including Juilliard, Eastman,
Indiana) will be trying to outbid each other to recruit this
student. We will never hear a better jury from a student at this
level.

100%

This grade would be unfair and misleading to any music
student.

Instructor's Evaluation for all applied courses

The instructor is able to give heavier weighting to a student's
rate of progress from week to week than might be accounted for in
the jury. The instructor may also evaluate activities not included
on the jury (such as chamber music, written work, etc.) if these
activities and their evaluation have been specified in writing in
the first week of classes. However, the instructor's evaluation
should not be higher than the highest grade the student is
reasonably likely to achieve on the jury. It is especially
important that the grade in the first semester give the student a
fair idea of his/her likely success on the jury assuming continued
progress at the present rate. For example, a student whose work did
not deteriorate in the second semester, and whose 240B jury went
reasonably well, has good reason to question the fairness of the
grading if his/her final grade in 240B is more than 5 marks lower
than the 240A grade.